Faster than the speed of love
by Johnnyrottn
Summary: First attempt to write a story of my own. No, the title is not meant to be taken seriously. SET IN THE REAL WORLD: Following their graduation, Natsu and Gray now live as two young bachelor's in a small, smelly apartment. One day Gray bumps into two of his old classmates, and things start taking new turns. Grayza, NaLu Rated k-M for foul language, adult jokes.
1. Chapter 1

Faster than the speed of love

**Yes, the title is truly ironic in every sense of the word; ( ** watch?v=CqrWCGbDD-E **)****. So this is the first thing I've ever written. Like it? Hate it? Was it meeh? Well, leave a response, any form of review/reaction is appreciated will be really appreciated. NOTE: the first chapter is much longer than the other chapters. So don't expect me to write a bible for you every week. As mentioned; it's mainly focused on GrayZa and NaLu, so here it is guys. **

**NOTE: Not set in Fairy Tail universe, and I don't own any of these characters nor franchise. **

**Rated M for foul language, adult jokes, drugs and violence.**

**Chapter 1 – so what are you up to these days?**

7.30 pm. Friday, 10 October, year 2012.

Mirajane crossed her legs, as she pressed the click on her ballpoint pen. Gray sat with his hands gripping his knees tightly. The little spinning fan in the rear end of the psychiatrist's office did very little to hinder Gray's uncontrolled sweating; leaving big puddles under his armpits on his white shirt. He had to keep his elbows cocked inwards, so that the rings of sweat would remain unobserved by the platinum blonde psychiatrist. Not that he really had anything to be ashamed of. After all, he and Mira were friends from school. Maybe not friends, associates would be the better word. She was one year older than him.

But he still felt that he didn't want to show the whole world he was sweating like a lunatic. Mirajane looked up from her notepad and smiled warmly at the dark haired young man. Gray tried to twitch forward a genuine smile, but it was easier said than done.

''So… Gray'' said Mirajane, before she cleared her throat. '' I think you know better than anyone else why we are both here, right?''. Even her eyes seemed to smile at Gray. The blue and luscious color together with her bright hair made something about Mirajane literally shine. Gray nodded slowly.

''I do…'' he mumbled quietly. He had meant to speak louder, but he wasn't quite comfortable with his situation yet.

''So I hope you understand, that whatever we talk about; it is something that will just stays between you and I. And it dosen't matter whether or not my education is finished or not. What I will write in my report is simply how you progress throughout the period of time you come here. So your anonymity is protected. Are we clear on this?'' said Mirajane. She still had that beaming smile on her lips. Gray stuttered a little bit, before he cleared his throat.

''Yes'' he said.

''Good!'' Mirajane looked down on her notepad and scribbled something. ''Now Gray. I'm gonna begin with asking you take with me on an average day in your life. And remember to give me everything. Like I said: You have nothing to be ashamed of. So you can be blatantly honest with me.''

Gray sank down in his chair and leaned his head backward.

''I wake up 5 am every morning to prepare myself for each day….''

* * *

5 am Thursday 9th october, The alarm clock on his iPhone rang out recklessly, with a monotone and frustrating ringtone that Gray couldn't edit. He just had to live with the sound of old church bells, every single time he had to get up from his bed and be slung out into a dark, empty apartment. He kicked and twirled a little bit, before he snoozed the alarm. '' ten minutes… just ten minutes'' he thought. But he knew for sure that he needed every last, miserable second of every morning to prepare for the new day. Regardless, he took the extra 10 minutes to rest up, before finally hurling himself out of the bed like an athlete. Gray strolled ghoulishly around in his little room in search for the light and hit the switch. He went to the kitchen and filled up a batch off coffee. As the machinery began purring, Gray took off his boxers and went to the bathroom. He threw the underwear on the increasingly big pile of dirty laundry, put the toothbrush in his mouth and stepped into the shower. He knew for certain the landlord had not fixed the waterheater yet, but he simply didn't care anymore. He was already used to shower in cold water. And he actually quite liked it.

While rubbing his hair in shampoo and brushing his teeth, Gray thought about the reports he would have to write. His boss's fake smile and smelly breath. His whiny, boring and socially retarded co-workers. The dry sandwich he would have for lunch and the inevitable, stinky t-shirt he would have to put on at the gym. When he was done showering, he put a towel around his waist and went to pour up some coffe in his mug. It was blacker than his hair. Before he poured the milk in it that is, and it sort of reminded him of the hair color of one of his old classmates; Cana. He remembered the first time they had gone out together. At the age of 14 she could already floor a whole bottle of Jack. She was the one who helped him get home when they celebrated their graduation; the last happy day of his life. That woman could drink like a maniac. If anything, she should be working as a bartender these days. He hurried his breakfast down in an instant, poured his coffe out in the sink and ran down to the bus stop. A cold, windy morning and he could see his breath dance intensively in the air as he walked with swift determination to the bus.

* * *

Mirajane scribbled intensively on her notepad.

''So… just what do you work with, Gray?'' Mirajane's faithful smile was still glued to her face. Gray exhaled, as though he would rehearse a long speech.

''I sit by a desk for 11 hours and write statistics about the operating systems that my company update. So, you know, if we get a set of computers that are to be updated from windows vista to say; windows 8, then I am the one who tell the programmers which computers should have which systems. So I write hundreds of reports every day about which computers should have what, when it should be done, which digits this computer have, I also write about the computers we send back.''

''Well, Gray… That sounds…'' Mirajane made a tormented expression in solidarity to her subject.

''yes, it's excruciatingly horrible. ''

Mirajane smirked. It almost looked like she took pleasure in Gray's misery. But the way he described his situation sounded almost to dire to be real. Kind of like american comedy shows about white collar workers in their 20s doing meaningless paperwork and hating their lives. Ironically, this was probably not very far away from her patient's situation.

''It's okay, you can laugh'' said Gray. Mira chuckled a little bit, before moving on.

''So why do you work for so long, Gray? I mean, most people work for 8 or 9 hours a'day.'' Asked Mirajane.

''Because my boss is a greedy, old asshole, who hold us at work every last day to do this cleaning. He always make us work overtime. What happens if you don't work overtime? Well… then you are out. My average day should be 9 hours, but every goddamn day, he makes us go overtime. No exaggeration: every day.'' Mirajane wrote something down.

''Okay, so we can almost certainly conclude that the job is related to a lot of your misery?'' asked Mirajane.

''Yes…''

''So let's just get back to that later. We'll go through what you do the rest of the day. You told me you workout. What is it you train? Boxing? Football? Tennis?''

''I go to the gym down the street from my job. Some days I really, really cant stomach to do it. But I know that I litterally have to. It is the only time in the day I get to be alone and do whatever I want. .''

''Hm-hm. You mentioned something about a roommate?''

Gray's skin color literally shifted. ''Yes. Natsu….''

* * *

Thursday 9.30 PM

Gray stood in hesitance with his hand resting on the doornob. He really wanted to go home, but at the same time, he didn't want to enter. It was just that one little detaill about going inside; the detail that could be spelt out as a pinkhaired lunatic he shared his home with. Gray took a deep breath before slunging the door open. The hallway was dark and messy, shoes were piled on one another and jackets lay spread around the floor. The apartment was small, it was basically the livingroom, Gray's room, a very small kitchen and restroom. Natsu had taken the livingroom because he wanted to sleep on the chairbed. Natsu sat on the couch with a drumstick in his mouth and an X-box controller in his hands. Gray entered the room and took a seat next to him.

''Arent you supposed to be at work?'' asked Gray. Natsu could not hear him: he blasted tasteless power metal on loud volume in his earphones. ''ARENT YOU SUPPOSED TO BE ON WORK?!'' repated Gray, this time he nearly shouted. It took Natsu a few seconds to notice Gray. He turned his head towards him and took his headphones off.

''What did you say?'' asked Natsu. Gray sighed and repated himself:

''I SAID aren't you supposed to be working now?''. Natsu shook his head.

''Nope. Don't feel like going today.'' Natsu put on his headphones again. Gray could feel a blood vessel pop in his forehead.

''oh yeah? So how are you going to pay your part of the rent?'' his voice was shaking in anger. Natsu sat motionless on the couch.

''Ohh… About that, can you hook me up?'' asked Natsu ''I don't really feel like doing it this week''. Gray tought he was joking. Or hoped he was joking at least. But Natsu had said it with a straight face. Without missing the beat Gray, hurled himself over Natsu and hit him with his clenched fists.

''Im gonna kill you motherfucker!'' Gray landed punches on Natsu's sides and arms. Natsu tried to push Gray away to the best of his ability, he put his palms in Gray's face.

''Raaaaaape! You're raping me you pervert! Raaaaaape!'' Natsu tried to untangle himself from Gray's grasp and finally managed to throw himself of the couch. Natsu mounted himself over Gray's chest, and put his knees on Gray's arms, hindering him from fighting back. A sadistic smile spread across Natsu's face.

''Guess what time it is, Gray-chan?''

Mirajane wrote something on the note pad.

''so he…?''

''Yes'' Gray interrupted Mira. ''He sticks his fingers into my mouth, because he know I have strong gag reflexes. It's really degrading and repulsive.'' Mira almost chuckled, but she managed to turn it into a cough instead, saving some face in the process.''So how's your contact with your parents then?''

June 18th 2012,

Gray's mother smiled widely.

''Well sweetie, what do you think?!'' she asked him with a broad smile on her lips. Gray looked around in what would be his apartment.

''I can still see the chalklines from a dead body here.'' His mother just waved it off.

''Ohh, nonesense! You should just call aunt Ur and thank her for renting this place for ya!'' His mom gave Gray a broad smile.

''Cant I just think about it for a while? I mean, it's kind off a big decision.''

''That uhm… would also be a good idea, if it wasn't for the fact that Ive already paid for this appartment for you. '' His mom put an insuring hand on Gray's shoulder. He was much taller than her. He had outgrown her in his early teens.

''Mom… You shouldn't have…''

''with your savings of course''

''WHAT THE F-''

''So your mother took the money she had saved up to buy an apartment against your will?''. Gray nodded.

''Yes, the day after I graduated she essentially threw me out of my house. She said I was grown and she had hired mathematicians to prove that one big investment in an apartment would be more economically efficient than keeping me around another 5 years.''

''But… she did buy you an apartment?'' Gray frowned at Mira.

''Yeah, but with money she had saved up so that I could use them for something I wanted. Not a stinky apartment miles away from where I grew up. Especially not one where I live next door to drug dealers!''

''But… it was her money she saved up right?'' Gray glared at Mira. She realised she had gone to far this time.

''Okay…'' Mirajane closed her notebook and put it in here lap. '' so here's what we are going to do: Im gonna have to ask you to come back next week. Then we will evaluate all of my conclusions. Do you think that you can perhaps try to keep your head up until then?''

Gray muttered. ''Do I have any choice?''

Mirajane smiled; ''Well, I cant meet you every day Gray, and one meeting every week is all I can entitle you too. But I can give you some advice based on what I learned from here. Does that sound good?''. Gray shrugged.

''It depends on what you have to say''.

* * *

Gray snarled, as he shouldered his way through the crowded streets. Mira and Gray had discussed a few thing she thought would help him break out of his routinpadded lifestyle. Mira wrote down a couple of tips for him; She told him to just screw the cleaning when he get's home. Screw eating healthy, _''just buy yourself a pizza and slab it in your face, be as disgusting as you can.''_ She adviced him to just lie in his bed for 5 minutes every morning and think about things he is grateful for, before heading to work. Gray had protested, because he couldn't, In this moment think about anything to be grateful over.

That a psychiatrist would recommend these kind of things seemed really strange to Gray. But then again, they had gone to the same school once in a time. Strictly speaking, Mira was also not a shrink just yet. Gray exhaled loudly. The music from the headphones thundered in his ears and he couldn't really tell what song was play. Nor did he really care. He was just so tired, and the only thing he wanted was to get home. But in all of this commotion of thoughts, music and fatigue he could hint a voice saying his name. Instinctively he took off his headphones and looked around. Gray looked around after someone. Maybe he had just imagined what he heard. But then he saw someone he recognized and she seemed to be looking back at him.

''Is that you… Gray?'' it was a blonde with big blue eyes, with her hair put in a pony tail. She was wearing some really ugly and green working clothes; Indicating she had her job at a coffeshop somewhere. It was Lucy. One of his old classmates. At first she would appear to be a stupid slut, but she was really a smart,caring and nice girl. At least from what Gray remembered. The boys had flocked around her, especially Loki, one of Gray's older friends. But for some reason it had never worked out. According to most of the people he knew, Lucy and Loki had a thing going for quite some time.

''Ohh, hey, Lucy! It's been a while!'' Gray sounded less awkward than he really felt. Of course, she didn't really know what was up, but still. She should probably see that something was different with her old classmate. All the more empty of charisma and joy.

''Uhh, yeah! So where are you heading?'' she asked him. Gray motioned down the road ''well Im going home actually. I uh… take it you work here?'' Gray tilted his head towards the coffeshop they were standing next too. It was leprachaun green as well. Just like Lucy's tasteless working garment. Lucy nodded. ''Yeah, I was just… closing up, kind off. We just have to count the cash now, so I shut everything down. But, would you like to… uhm, have a cup off tea?''

''Uhm… Are you sure you are allowed to serve people at this hour?''. Lucy looked around.

''Well… No, of course not, but I make an exception. We need to catch up don't we?'' she gave him a heartwarming and cute smile. Gray chuckled, for the first time in a long time he showed some kind of happy emotions. He had to admit it; allthough he wasn't the clingy type, Gray understood what other guys saw in Lucy and why they were clinging on her. It was more than just her ridicolously curvaceous body and gorgeous face. It was also the fact she seemed so innocent and full of life. Most of the other girls in his class had been goodlooking women. But none of them showed as much soul and personality as Lucy ever did.

''Yeah, let's see what you have.''

The tea was almost boiling. Gray blew on the hot fumes and took a microbic sip from the hot water. To be fair, he had never really liked tea. His mom used to make him drink it when he was a child. But it never really stuck to him. Tea was always rather dull. But he didn't feel like complaining too Lucy. Granted it was free and Gray wouldn't be a douche about it in the first place.

''So what are you doing these days then?'' Lucy opened up a small milk carton and pour it in her cup. Gray shrugged uninterestingly.

''I work at an office and clean my apartment. That's essentially all I do in a week. '' Gray regretted he made himself sound so dull, what he said was almost an instant conversation stopper.

''Uhu- weekends too? You never go out or anything?''

''Well, no. I just play X-box with Natsu and that's about it. We eat junkfood, watch movies and play videogames.'' Gray touched the teawater with his lips a second time. ''Then it's back to work again.''

''Wa- wait. Natsu? As in Natsu-'' Lucy made a gesture with her hand as if she was asking Gray to tell her his last name.

''yes. THAT Natsu. We live together, didn't you know that?'' Gray put his cup on the table and pour a little milk in it. He put his spoon in the cup and swirled around.

''Uh, no. I uhm, I didn't know you guys knew one another in that way.'' Lucy took a first sip of her tea and savoured her perfect work.

Gray shrugged. ''It's kind off always been like that. We fight a little, but we always get along in the long run.''

''Oh.. Gray, I didn't know you guys were… uhm, when did you find out?'' Lucy put her cup down enthutiastically and looked deep into Gray's eyes.

Gray frowned, seriously perplexed about the question. ''What do you mean?''

''I mean uhh— You know… I don't know if I want to break it out so bluntly.''

Gray couldn't understand a thing. What was she going on about? He didn't get it. ''Lucy, what the hell are you talking about?''.

''Well how long have you and Natsu been uh-'' Lucy scratched her head, looking for the right way to put it.

''We've known eachother since we were both five or something. We went to kindergarten together. That's how much I know.''

''Ohh… Okay, I see. So it's kind off been, uhh friendship from the start? So to say?''

Gray nodded. ''Yeah, I think so''

''Lucy, we really need to close up, so can you perhaps ask the guest to finish up? Otherwise the boss is gonna complain.'' A female voice exclaimed from somewhere Gray didn't see. He looked around and couldn't see anyone in the store except for Lucy.

''She's in the bathroom'' said Lucy with a broad smile on her face. ''You know… Girl week.'' Lucy almost whispered. ''Yeah! I'll send him away!''

Gray cocked his eyebrow. ''Really? You're sending me home so soon?''

Lucy smiled in an excusive way. ''Yeah, Im really sorry. We cant be seen serving people when we're closed. Our boss would kill us. You know''

''Who's in there?'' Gray cocked his body to the side so he could see behind the bardisc. But before his question was answered by Lucy, he witnessed the other employee opening the restroom door. It was a redhaired young woman, with her hair in a topknot. He remembered her at once. And all of the sudden a rush of memories hit him like a punch in the gut.

''….Erza?'' he exclaimed. Gray would be lying if he had said he was totally expecting to see not only one, but two of his old classmates working at the same place.

''Hello there… Gray'' Erza spoke in a rather cold and dismissive way. It was her way of communicating with him. It had been that way ever since they were kids. But especially since their early teens. They just couldn't communicate anymore after they both had hit puberty. Gray was a rebellious child who couldn't take orders and Erza was a bossy and routinedriven individual who couldn't handle people not following here orders. For some reason she had managed to befriend Lucy, which was strange to young Gray. As persoanlities, they were completely polarized.

''So, how did you guys hook up on this… uh job?'' Gray's voice was lower and less determined than when he had talked to Lucy alone. You always communicate different, with different people. And Erza was the person Gray could amount to show least emotion towards. Every attempt to be energetic or ambitious about talking to her came off as insinicere. Erza untied her hair from the knot and tousled it. It was almost unnaturally red. He had always wondered if her hair color was the namesake of her family name, or the other way around. Regardless, of their rather unexisting relationship, Erza had amazing hair, and that was something Gray could admit. Even if she was scary.

''Long story, we decided we would look for a job together after we graduated.'' She sounded like she tried her best to stop the conversation. ''So how long are you planning to stay?'' not only did she stop the conversation, she sent Gray flying out.

''Uhm… So, I'll be going now I guess.'' Gray pulled his coat over his arms and put his wollen hat on his head. ''Thanks for the tea Lucy. I'll uhm… I'll stay in touch!''. Gray walked up to her and gave her a soft hug, by just pressing the palm of his hand against her arm. He turned around and looked at Erza and simply waved her goodbye.

''Tell Natsu I said hi!'' Lucy shouted after him. Gray smiled at her and waved his hand. ''So are we ready to pack up now? Now that you've put us in deep shit once again?'' Asked Erza. Lucy looked preplexed. ''Deep shit? What do you mean?''

''Well, Lucy, what do we say if the boss find out that we gave away free tea?'' continued the redhaired woman.

Lucy almost looked frightened. ''Okay Erza, I'll take the blame if that happens, this isnt on you, I promise'' Lucy smiled widely. Erza looked back at Lucy and shook her head. ''I can always count on you huh?'' Erza took the seat Gray sat on earlier. ''So should take 5 minutes to just chill out, before we close down?'' said Erza. Lucy shrugged at the question ''yeah, why the hell not?'' she said. ''But I'd really like to go home.'' Silence grasped the little coffeshop.

''But Erza, what's the beef between you and Gray?'' Lucy finally asked. Erza looked a little surprised.

''Uhh, there's none, why do you ask?''

''So you're not angry with him or whatever?'' Erza scratched the back of her head.

''I really dont understand, why would I?''

''Cause... Well, you sent him away a little too sudden. You didn't really sound super happy when he came in.'' said Lucy, ''it's just an idea! I mean, if you have no problem with him, I wont question it.'' Lucy stuttered just a little, as though she excused every last word she uttered. Erza chuckled.

''I really did send him away cause we need to close up. So if you feel like you wanna make a good gesture, invite him over tomorrow or something.'' Erza stood up. She smiled in the kind way she usually do when she's not in the mood for pushing people around. The kind Erza Lucy had gotten to really know. ''Let's go, I don't wanna sit here more than necessary'' she finally said.

* * *

Gray tried every key on his ring to fit the door and every last one of them was wrong. He cursed under his breath, as the last one finally clicked. He opened the door up and went straight for the bathroom. As he put the toothpaste on his brush, he could see the lights from the TV in the living room flinger. Gray went in there to check what was going on. Natsu laid causally with his whole body spread out on the couch.

''Hey…'' said Gray while brushing his teeth.

''Hey.'' The pinkhaired tried to focus on the tv.

''What are you watching?'' asked Gray.

''Terminator 3.''

''Do you like it?''

''No, it sucks. But I have nothing else to do, you know.''

''Uhh… how about… Going to work?''

Natsu shook his head. ''Nothing up today. Mr Akiyama only need me occasionally.'' Gray took a seat next to Natsu.

''Must feel good to have a few days off at least.''

''Yup, it helps you recover. I can tell from looking at you that 9-5 isnt exactly a dream''.

''Well, someone has to pay rent.'' Gray cracked his fingers triumphantly and looked around in the living room for something to eat. ''Can I have those pop tarts?'' he pointed at a plastic bag lying on Natsu's chest. The pinkhaired one shook his head.

''I'm gonna kill you if I don't get one.'' Gray glared at Natsu with the angriest face he could muster.

''Try me.''

**END NOTES: Son of a bitch! 11 PAGES O.o, never expected it to reach so long. Allright, but in the future, Im gonna try to scale it down somewhat. Im sorry if this isnt top notch, first time I ever write fiction, but I've always wanted too. so Im not quite into the mood yet.**

**The relationship building between our protagonists begin next chapter, so if you thought this was a little too much talk, you're excused. I hope you enjoyed it! R/R **


	2. Chapter 2 Blueberry, the happy color

**Chapter 2 : blueberry, the happy color.**

Allright! Not gonna waste your time, chapter 2, here we go!

Erza felt uninspired to even get up this morning. It was Saturday after all and one would think that you should have the weekend for yourself. On one hand she did enjoy working on weekends once she had settled into the routine, but getting up in the morning was always a duty post-teens shouldn't have to do. She had always asked her parents when she were little, why school ''can't be on Saturday and Sunday and the weekend be from Monday to Friday?'' These days, it was essentially that way. Erza only worked in the evening and on Saturdays- Sundays. She did enjoy having the entire day being at home, eating ice cream and watching tv in her panties, but she rarely did anything else. Having to pay for bills and food left little oportunity to use her money to do something fun. She had thought about getting a roommate who could support her, but she couldn't figure out who that would be.

The alarm clock beeped again. Erza groaned and stepped up from the bed. She unplugged her phone from the charger and dialed Lucy's number. The blonde usually snoozed her alarm clock all morning and ended up being late. Erza felt she had a responsibility to make sure Lucy kept her job, since Lucy helped Erza get the job in the first place. Lucy didn't respond. Erza cursed under her breath and sent a text message instead. Lucy might had gone into the shower earlier? Erza looked around her one room apartment; it was messy beyond belief. Clothes were scattered everywhere, a sweater on the spinning ceiling fan, a bra on the tv screen, a skirt nailed to the refrigerator by a couple of fridge magnets. She really did have to put everything in it's place! Erza's phone rang, apparently Lucy had gotten a hold of her phone after all.

''Hey, why didn't you pick up the phone at once?'' Erza placed the phone between her head and shoulder as she put her stockings on.

Lucy laughed nervously in the other end. ''Sooorry! I was in the shower, I actually got up by myself today!'' Well that was a relief. Maybe she can manage for herself in the future? Thought Erza.

''Okay then, I'll just see you at work in that case!'' said the redhaired young woman.

''Wait.. Erza!''

''huh?''

''When we get to work.. there's something I wanna talk about'' Lucy's tone had almost completely changed. What could it be? Was it something bad?

''don't worry, we'll talk about it!'' Said Erza. The both girls hung up after some formality chit-chatting, but Lucy had still placed a bug in Erza's brain. Now she just got curious about what it could be.

Erza tied a knot in her hair as she went through the door to her workplace. The café was almost empty. A man in his 50s had a seat near the corner with the daily news in his hands. Cana stood behind the counter, pretending she was doing something important.

''There you are! Cant you see I'm soaked!'' said Cana ironically. Erza didn't understand Cana was joking.

''Really? I think you're just playing with your phone to be honest'' Cana laughed nervously. Explaining that she was joking would only sound awkward and kind off dumb. ''Where is Lucy?'' asked Erza. She stepped inside the booth and prepared a cup off coffee for herself. It was against the rules ( or the stupid guildelines ) to drink in front of the customers, so she would have to bend behind Cana's back whenever she decided to take a slurp.

''She's in the dressing room, I think she'll be ready any moment. Why?'' Cana had been offered the job at the café at the same time as Lucy. But she wasn't really as ambitious as Lucy or Erza. Lucy was clumsy and ended up late, did a lot of mistakes etc, but she still tried her best. Erza was strict and took the job very seriously, but she never got promoted. Cana on the contrary seemed to always be slacking and did just enough to keep her job. She wasn't lazy, she just didn't really care.

''well… she said it was urgent over the phone. Did she tell you anything?'' asked Erza.

Cana shook her head. ''Nope, she's been in there. Maybe you should change too?''. Erza took her coat of and put it on the floor to expose that she was already wearing her workclothes.

''I've already changed''.

Cana smiled gently. ''Look at that, no time to waste huh?'' As the two ladies chitchatted, Lucy stepped in the booth.

''Oh! There you are Erza!'' The blonde exclaimed.

''Here I am!'' Erza crossed her arms. ''So what was it you wanted to tell me?''

Lucy scanned the coffee shop with her eyes almost paranoid way.

''Okay… Erza. It's about… uhm…. Gray… and Natsu'' Erza and Cana frowned.

''I hope it's okay if I listen too right?'' Said Cana.

Lucy nodded she scanned the coffeeshop a third time. ''I think you should know this too Cana…''

''What the hell is wrong with you?! Can you just tell us?!'' Shouted Erza. The point was to draw attention from the man in the corner so that Lucy would quite behaving so immaturely.

''Okay, okay'' Lucy tried to excuse herself, fearing Erza's wrath would empty all over her. '' I think…think Gray and Natsu are more than friends'' the blonde exhaled as if she had held her breath for the entire conversation. Erza and Cana looked at one another baffled.

'' Wh… What?'' they exclaimed together.

''Yes! I really do think that! Gray kind off indicated It here last night!''

Both of them seemed surprised. But Cana more so ''what do you mean? Did he say it?''

''Well… Technically no, but… he told me that he and Natsu lived together. So I asked him how they got so close. And he told me 'we've always been like that'. Do you understand?'' Erza and Cana looked at one another and shrugged. '' I really showed him with my entire body language that I was trying to ask him if they were. THAT. '' Lucy picked up her cup off tea and took a sip to calm her nerves. Cana scratched her head. Her heart was beating quick and she spoke almost too fast.

''What do you mean? Did you flash your tits and he didn't react?''

Lucy spat out the tea all over her friends. ''CANA! THAT'S NOT OKAY!'' Lucy almost cried at the complete lack of sophistication from her brunette friend's side.

''What?! You are the one who used those words! It's very easy to interpret it that way! Besides, how is Gray supposed to catch that kind of body signals? He's a man! He wouldn't understand what you meant even if you asked him straight out!''

''Besides he's a total bonehead'' said Erza, she shrugged of the mild teawater like a dog. ''Really, Lucy. I think you're drawing premature conclusions. He just said he lives with Natsu, it's kinda common in our age to have roommates''

''Well. There's a good way to find out the truth'' said Cana. She opened a beer and swoop the upper half of it.

''Since when do we serve alcohol here?'' asked Erza. Cana looked at the beerbottle and shrugged.

''So anyway. I know a way to find out the truth without being rude and asking him up front. That way we can know his orientation for certain!'' Cana crooked a smile on her lips.

''What would that be?'' Asked Erza.

''It's quite simple: we ask one of them to follow one of us out to go shopping!'' Erza and Lucy looked at one another and then at Cana.

''What?'' said the blonde and the redhead in unison.

''Straight guys hate shopping more than anything. It's kind of like their kryptonite. But gay guys love to go shopping with women. So the test is simple: if any of them agrees to go out shopping, then they are a couple and you are right Lucy!'' said Cana. Her beer bottle was already empty so she threw it in the bin on the otherside of the counter.

''I wouldn't want to bring any of those guys with me to go shopping, even if I got paid for it'' said Erza with her arms crossed.

''Really? What do you hate them so much for anyway?'' asked Lucy. Erza shook her head.

''I don't hate them. I just think they are immature jackasses. And that applies even if they are a couple.'' Said Erza with a firm conviction.

''So what was the name of that bluehaired girl who was clinging on to Gray in school all the time?'' Asked Cana. ''I think she out of anyone would be the perfect test to find out.''

''Oh … you mean Juvia? I actually think she would get a heartattack if she would be given Gray's number and if she found out he was gay she would probably go insane.'' Said Lucy. ''But I guess you're right. If Gray would accept an invitation from her we would have it completely affirmed.''

''What are you talking about?'' said a male voice that sounded very familiar. The three girls turned around slowly and witnessed someone they didn't quite expect. A boy with messy, pink hair and extremely tired, red eyes stood before them. His face seemed almost suicidal from his fatigue and the 3 couldn't help but wonder what he had been doing there out of all places.

''Ohh…. Hey… Natsu…'' stuttered Lucy praying to the old gods and the new that he hadn't captured any of what they were talking about. Scratch that, where the hell did he come from?! And what was he doing at their coffeehouse out of all the coffeehouses in the world?! He just must have passed at least 100 on his way from his house.

''Hey Lucy. It's been a while. I was just wondering, how many blueberry muffins do you guys have?'' Natsu seemed rather unambitious about his questions. The three girls stood in complete silence.

''Uhm… I'm not sure. The ones you can see there'' said Lucy pointing to the counter. Although she didn't show it, the relief she felt upon finding out he was either unaware or uncaring about their discussion was over the top. Natsu carefully studied the cupcakes.

''Blueberry… isn't that the gay flavor?'' whispered Cana in Lucy's ear, but the blonde hushed her by putting her palms on the brunette's mouth.

''Yeah I'll have it.'' Said Natsu.

''Have what?'' Asked Cana as she struggled too keep Lucy's hands away from her face.

''The blueberries muffins. All of them.'' Said Natsu, while he was digging for his vaulet. The boy threw a handful of money on the counter. Cana and Lucy looked at one another, neither one of them believing their ears. Unbeknown to both of them, Erza had already placed them In a paper bag and put them in Natsu's arms.

''That would be 75 dollars!'' she said with a broad smile on her face.

''I put it on the counter'' said Natsu, before he scurried towards the door.

''Wait… Natsu!'' said Erza. The mentioned turned around giving her a drowsy look.

''Lucy was planning on heading downtown to get a new pair of shoes tomorrow. And she needed a man of your caliber to join her.'' Lucy tried to protest but Cana put her hands on Lucy's mouth, muffling every single syllable trying to pass through her lips. Natsu scratched the back off his head.

'' What was the question now again?'' Said Natsu. He was too tired to capture what Erza had told him.

Erza sighed. Is this guy an idiot or what? ''Lucy wants you to take her shopping shoes. Would you like to go with her?''. Natsu yawned and postponed his answer further.

''Yeah. Why not?'' said Natsu before turning around disingenuously and leaving the café. Lucy looked at Cana and Erza.

''So… that solves it then?'' asked Lucy. She had finally managed to get out of Cana's death grip.

''He didn't seem very excited about it.'' Said Cana

''Maybe he is really straight and just stupid, thinking you're asking him out?'' said Erza.

''Why do you guys have to put me in this situation?! What am I gonna do?! I don't even have money to buy shoes!'' said the blonde. Erza cocked her eyebrow.

''You shoulda told me earlier then'' she said.

''YOU GAGGED ME! I COULDN'T SAY ANYTHING!'' squirmed Lucy. It almost seemed like she was about to break down in tears. ''what am I gonna do?!''

''Well… you do have yourself to blame for this. If you hadn't brought this up, you wouldn't have had to do this.'' Said Cana. The brunette was flooring another beerbottle as she spoke.

''I think it's outside our work ethics to drink here'' objected Erza. Cana shrugged it off.

Natsu opened the door and hurled the bag off muffins on Gray's chest from the doorway.

''Ohh… you got the blueberries!'' said the raven haired boy. ''But…'' Gray dug through the bag. '' you bought only blueberries! What the hell man?!''

''Yeah…. I felt like blueberries.''

''What were you doing away for so long? It's been 3 hours since you left.'' Asked Gray as he put one of the muffins in his mouth. The TV was on, the both of them had spent the night watching '_Married with children'_ and eating junkfood. Gray couldn't sleep that night, so they ended up watching TV instead, like they mostly do. Only difference this time was their old high school habits came back. Gray usually didn't drink alcohol, but this time he felt the need too. Natsu and Gray decided to play a drinking game: everytime Peggy said ''ohh Al!'' they both had to take a shot. By the end of the night they were both so drunk they couldn't even move. But before they knew it, it was morning again. Natsu had made the offer to go down to the bakery and get some pastry.

''Yeah. Every bakery on the block was closed. So I went to the next block and all the stores were closed there too. So I ended up where Lucy is working.'' Gray couldn't believe what he heard.

''What? it's like 5 miles! Why did you go so far?''

''Like I told you: every bakery was closed. It's unbelievable. '' Natsu took a muffin and placed it in his mouth. ''Ohh by the way, Lucy wanted to go out with me tomorrow.'' Gray frowned.

''what the hell? How did you out of all people convince her to go out with you?'' asked Gray, genuinely surprised. Natsu shrugged.

''that's the messed up part. She asked me out.'' Said Natsu.

''Huh….'' Gray watched the heated argument on the TV between Marcy and Al, while idly listening to Natsu. ''I should be more surprised. But Im too.. um… tired to care.''

**I kind of stressed with this one, cause I felt obliged to put it up fast. I hope it keeps you interested enough. But you know, studies and shit. Allright, I'll start working with chap 3 right away. Have a good day guys!**


	3. Chapter 3 Lame, or casual?

**Chapter 3 Lame, or casual?**

**Author's note: ****Sorry dud****e****sters,**** like last time, I've been really, really busy with studies and haven't really felt any fire in my writing. But this week and next week, I have organized a little better, so I will be able to write more sufficiently. Rate and review!**

Chips, dip, fireball, beer, mugs, sprite, pepsi. All you needed for a party. But Gray couldn't help but wonder why Natsu had bought it on a Sunday.

''Are you out of your mind? What made you decide you wanted to throw a party TONIGHT?!'' asked Gray. ''I got work tomorrow, I can't have a ton of assholes trashing my apartment.''

''It's our apartment'' said Natsu with a smirk on his face. ''Besides, I've got a good reason to hold this tonight!''

''Did something special happen when you went out with Lucy? Because you could just bring her over WITHOUT wasting your money on junkfood and mess with my sleep. Besides, there is never a good reason to hold parties on Sundays.''

''Actually yes, something did happen.'' Natsu seemed like he was reminiscing ''If I remember correctly.''

Lucy seemed more insecure about the situation than ever before. Not only did she think of all the possible outcomes that would leave her in terribly awkward positions. What if Natsu thought she was trying to invite him to a date? What if he wasn't gay and would be offended and pissed off when she asked? What if he was a gay guy who hated shoes? Lucy looked cool on the outside, but was screaming internally. She tried to create solutions for each situation, she thought hard and long on how to handle Natsu. She made up complicated, Sherlock Holmes plans on how to respond to every likely scenario. What was Erza thinking? More importantly, what was SHE thinking?! Why was she so concerned with Natsu's and Gray's preferences? Why did it matter so much? How should this be done? And she didn't even need shoes! Ohh gods, what to do?

She was waiting outside the mall. Sundays was quite a popular shopping day, it was a good way to end your week and come back to work or school with a flashy new shirt or a nice pair of jeans. It always felt good to come back as a new human by the end of the week. At least in Lucy's thought.

Natsu came strooling up the street. When he saw Lucy he beamed up with a smile.

''Hey Lube! What's up?!'' He seemed a little too happy. Completely opposite from the night before. _Wait… did he call me Lube?_ Thought Lucy.

''Hey! Natsu! So nice to meet you again!'' She said with a broad smile on her face.

''you feeling better today?'' she asked him. Natsu looked at her perplexed.

''whadayyamean? I'm always feeling good.'' Said Natsu.

''I was just thinking about yesterday. You seemed like you had walked golgatta when you came by the coffeeshop.

Okay, so far so good. She thought. At least I gave him a big smile; maybe I can convince him into something. But what shoes should I buy? I have to improvise from now on. And Lucy did improvise. Natsu couldn't stay focused in the shoe stores and showed absolutely no interest at all in Lucy's attempts to get attention. At some point he almost fell asleep. Lucy could almost certainly tell Natsu was not interested the least in shoes. So what to do? She couldn't just end this awkwardly by saying _'I can't find any shoes, so bye! ' _and then run off. She also worried about how it would be interpreted if she would bring him along to drag it out further. She looked over her scenarios again:

Scenario 1: What if he was into girls and interpreted it as her hitting on her? Scenario 2: what if he wasn't straight and didn't care about shoes? Scenario 3: what if he wasn't gay and would be extremely offended if she indicated any suspicions?

''hey Lucy'' she jumped a little bit and turned around to her shopping partner.

''Yes, Natsu?''

''do you plan on buying anything at all? You've been looking at those sneakers for 10 minutes now.'' He finally said. Lucy simply waved him off.

''ohh! You know how we girls are! It takes a while to decide for us!'' Natsu shook his head.

''I had no idea it would take this long''

''Ohh Natsu…. Am I boring you?'' she finally asked. Natsu shook his head a second time.

''I don't really understand what you needed me here for in the first place. I don't care about shoes at all. Gray is the one who does that.'' Lucy got an epiphany! Of course! Gray was the one with the more feminime sides in the relationship! All of the sudden Lucy forgot all the calculation, all of the possible outcomes, all of that, she was now convinced that Natsu was just the thicker one in the relationship ( as if she didn't know that before ), and that Gray was the one with more stereotypical girliness! She would only need confirmation for that and she would have it all completely mapped out.

''Hey Natsu, would you mind grabbing a cup off tea after I've picked my pair?'' asked Lucy. Natsu shook his head.

''not at all! That sounds nice actually!''

''Okay, so because she bought you a cup of tea, you decided you should invite her and her friends over on a Sunday?'' asked Gray

''Nono, that's not what happened! Let me explain!'' exclaimed Natsu.

The two decided to take a break at the local café. It was a small place in the middle of the mall. People around them hurried around in the little stores. Crying children, stressed out mothers, bored teen girls in sweatpants everywhere. But somehow the little café maintained an aura of calm. It seemed completely cut off from the rest of the mall. Lucy had left the store, spending half her salary on a pair of jogging shoes she didn't like or want. But she felt as if she had to keep the façade up, for some reason. Maybe it would be all too awkward if she didn't maintain the act? She wasn't quite sure yet.

''hey Lucy'' said Natsu

''yeah?'' answered the blonde.

''thanks for the tea'' said Natsu. Lucy smiled at him.

''It's okay, I think it was the least I could do after dragging you through all of that shoeshopping. I didn't think you would hate it that much though.'' Natsu shrugged. He didn't seem to particularly like the tea either. But it wasn't like him to be ungrateful.

''So what are the plans for tonight?'' asked Natsu. Lucy scratched her head.

''I dunno. Probably just gonna go home and relax. What about you?'' Natsu shrugged. Lucy saw an opening. She was skeptical and very reluctant. But she asked anyway.

''how about I come by your place later? '' Lucy had to swallow all of her doubts and fears and just put it out on the table. This was the optimal way to find out the truth.

Natsu looked like a question mark.

''and then things went out of control.'' Said Natsu. Gray cocked his eyebrow.

''oh yeah?''

''Well… Lucy told Cana that she was planning to go to my place. So for some reason Cana spoke to several people and bought a ton of booze, she was completely determined to drink here. So before I knew it, a mountain of people began calling me, asking me for this party. So I had no choice.'' Said Natsu.

''So… Cana stirred up a party in our apartment against my will?'' said Gray. The ravenhaired boy muttered. ''But wait. You said you had good reasons to hold it today. Is peer pressure really a good reason to host this on a Sunday in a two room apartment?''

Natsu nodded enthusiastically . ''Damn right it is! I get a chance to drink fireball and stay up late on a Sunday! What's the catch?!'' Natsu didn't seem all too concerned about Gray's sleeping habit.

''The catch is, you idiot, that I have to go to BED because I have to go to WORK! '' the doorbell rang. The moment Gray had ended the paragraph, they could hear the loud, ringing noise from the door. The black haired adolescent sighed.

''Look, if you keep me awake, I'm gonna smutter you with a pillow'' said Gray. Natsu didn't respond.

**And the celebration itself will be held in next chapter, because this is all I have the time to work with. I'm sorry guys **** but please do rate and review. **


	4. Chapter 4 Sunday ale and cinnamon

**Chapter 4: Sunday ale and cinnamon**

Erza tried her best, but she simply couldn't figure out why Cana thought this would be a good idea. It's Sunday, after all and most people go to work on Mondays. They could have gotten away easy, Lucy could just have gone there and then came back with the report. But no, that wasn't the case. Cana needed to ''let loose a little'', so now Erza had no choice. Leaving Lucy alone with her could only end up in a disaster. So she felt obligated to step in and do her part: play the controlling friend.

So there they stood, in front of an apartment door, that was next to a crackhouse. They could hear loud rap music playing, and the stairs were completely drenched in the sweet scent of marijuana. They had been quite sceptical about going there at first, but Cana truly insisted. Erza could hear footsteps on the other side of the door. The door creaked open slowly to reveal Natsu standing in the doorway.

''What's up guys?!'' said the pinkhaired boy. He seemed quite excited about the visit. The straight oposite of how his aura had been when he had been to the coffeshop. On the other hand, Lucy had told them about the situation he had been in the night before that incident. The three girls entered the hallway and put their jackets on coat-hangers. Erza scanned the apartment. She had expected to find a dead body in the bathtub and old milk lying in the couch. To her surprise though, it was actually quite a cozy. The hallway lead directly to the livingroom with a big couch, placed in front of the tv. To her left was a small kitchen, to her right a restroom and to the left of the living room was a room with a closed door. Gray lay down in the couch with a bottle in front of him and a remote in his hand. He was wearing a pair of lightblue jeans and a v-necked t-shirt, he was barefoot and didn't seem to be very prepared for the evening. Cana went into the living room and greated Gray with an enthutiastic squeel. The two of them had been good friends for quite some time and seemingly got along very well.

''Can I use the bathroom?'' asked Lucy. Natsu frowned at her like it was the dumbest question ever asked. '' If you don't know how to use the toilet I can show you.'' the pinkhaired boy was either joking or not very aware of common formalities. Erza would have to guess on the second one, granted Natsu's nature. Lucy being the polite girl she was, didn't really feel like explaining her wording. ''nono, that's not it. Never mind me asking'' and with those words she went to the restroom. Erza smirked a little. Natsu could be really amusing, though sometimes without being aware of it.

''Would you mind if I take a seat?'' asked Erza. Considering the framing of the question, he could probably not bring about any stupid retort. Natsu smirked.

''Yes I do! Because you and I are gonna have shots in the kitchen!'' said Natsu. He pulled out a bottle off fireball, seemingly out of nowhere. Erza remembered her first meeting with fireball. It was not quite pleasant. At first, she was just having shots with her friends. But as time passed, she forgot track of how many she have had. So a huge part of the night was just black. The next thing she remembered was betting her last money on cockfights in little Kiev. She also helped one of the russians who had lost his rooster, bury it in the woods. Not memories she would like to revisit.

''Ehumm... Actually I really don't feel like it.'' she tried as an excuse. It was most likely futile. ''But! Have shots with Cana instead! She can drink like a sailor!'' said Erza. Any excuse to avoid that devil's drink was a good excuse. She didn't think about how poorly worded her metaphor sounded.

''Sounds great!'' Natsu was enthusiastic as usual. He really wanted to have as much fun he possibly could. A trait Erza could admire in a person. Gray didn't seem as happy. He had always been a little more laidback, but never had he come across as being slouchy. Natsu took a seat next to Cana and tempted her with the whiskeybottle. The brunette's eyes lit up.

''oh yeah! Get glasses! I'm gonna show you!'' Cana was doing everything except drooling. Her eyes were bigger than dinner plates. Natsu went back to the kitchen to get some of the small glasses. ''Come on Gray! Have some shots at least! Don't be a buzzkill!'' the brunette bumped Gray with her elbows. He shook his head. ''Sorry, you know the drill.'' said Gray. Erza took a seat next to Cana. ''what's with him?'' she whispered in Cana's ear. The brunette shook her head. ''he has to go to work tomorrow, so he's gonna have to stay sober.''. Erza didn't want to point out the elephant in the room, but their company actually also needed to go to work as well. ''So you just found yourself a best friend'' said Cana with a smirk. ''enjoy'' and without any warning the brunette stood up and went to the kitchen to join Natsu in some drinking games. Gray looked to his left and saw Erza. He didn't quite notice when she came in and he hadn't greeted her.

''hey...'' he finally squeezed out. The redhaired girl looked back at him and nodded awkwardly. Gray wondered why he sounded so weak and insecure. It was totally not like him. But he just couldn't think of anything to say. The two sat in a pathetically awkward silence for seconds. Gray could feel his insides turning against him. _Say something idiot! What's wrong with you! What are you afraid off?! _.

''Gray'' his thoughts were interrupted. Was she finally breaking the ice.

''You should join them'' she said. Gray looked at her, scratching the back off his head.

''Well.. thing is... I've got work tomorrow, so I can't get wasted.'' Erza couldn't think of a good response. ''You don't need to get wasted. Just try to have some fun. You threw this together after all'' . She sounded mature and more confident than she thought she would sound. The blackhaired boy scratched his head.

''Actually, I didn't throw this. It was Natsu who fell for Cana's proposal. '' He seemed to be quite tormented. ''Why don't you join them?'' asked Gray. Erza exhaled heavily.

''It's a long, long story...'' said the redhead. But she explained the story about the cockfighting night. Or what she remembered at least. Gray seemed to be quite absorbed by the story at first. Then they began discussing something else and before they knew it, they were talking about all kinds of things. Memories from school, childhood and just sort of catched up about all the things they had missed. Erza didn't feel the least awkward anymore and before they knew it, an hour had passed. Natsu and Cana came back from the drinking games, mainly because Natsu was near passing out. Lucy had joined them in the midst of the conversation.

''Gotta say though'' said Gray after a while. ''I wasn't expecting the evening to be so relaxing and nice.'' Cana cocked her head to the side.

''What do you mean?'' asked the brunette.

''Well, I thought you were gonna bring over a ton off other people who would keep me up all night. Gotta thank you for keeping so low profile'' said Gray. Cana laughed nervously.

''Ehumm... Actually'' before Cana could say anything the doorbell rang second time.

**Ohh snap who is it this time?! I'm sorry for the delay. It has been like a ton of things lying on my shoulders, so I haven't been able to even log on my computer until now. I'm sorry about that and I hope you haven't lost your hope in me :( I PROMISE I'll be faster with the next one. Pinky promise. Rate and review!**


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